Beet-cutting machine.



R'. J. BINKLEY. BEET CUTTING KJIA'CHIAIE.` A v APPLICA'TION FILEDA IULY5. |916. Lm., Pmmed sept. 4,1917.

(g1g axis of bm:

ROBAH J'. BINKLEY, OF POMONA, CALIFORNIA.

BEET-CTTING MACHINE.

Lacasse.

Application area Jury 5, 191e.v

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, Ronan J. BINKLEY, acitizen of the United States, residing at Pomona, county of Los Angeles,State of California, have invented new and useful Improveniente inBeet-Cutting Machines, of which the following` is a specification.

Broadly speaking this invention relates to beet cutting machines used insugar factories for shredding beets prior to extracting` the sugartherefrom. In some respects it is an improvement on my Patent 1,075,624,to which reference is made, although additional features `are hereshown. These machines usually comprise a revoluble member mounted in astationary casing. The latter holds the beets, while the former isequipped with the frames that hold the cut-ting knives. The frames aremade easily removable from the machine so that dull knives in themachine can be quickly replaced with sharp ones. This is importantbecause the duty of these machines is heavy,` and the knives dull fast,so that changes must be frequently made. Therefore each machine has aduplicate set of frames, one set operatingl in the machine, while theother set is being stripped of dull knives by the attendant, andequipped with sharp ones. Consequently, when the knives in the machinebecome dull, the machine is stopped, the frames with the dull knives arepulled out, and the one with the sh arp knives are pushed in. In thisway the machine need be stopped only a short time Y and can be quicklyrestarted with the sharp knives in place. The operation of the machine,and therefore of the entire factory, is thus kept practicallycontinuous, and this continuity, in part, accounts for the high over-allmill efficiency attained in sugar factories. Se far as this invention isconcerned, it relates chiefly to improvements in the frames.

In my new frames the knives and guide bars can be adjusted and fastenedto the frame without turning the frame over. This is more important thanmay at first be thought. In the form of frame previously used, theframes lie flat on the table while adjustments are being` made. Duringthis period the knives and guide bars are more or less loose so thatthey can be easily pushed into adjusted relation. lVhen they areVadjusted the frame is turned over, the nuts on the bottom are fastened,and by this Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. et, T911 7.

Serial No. 107,507'.

means the relatively loose knives and guide bars become securely boundand fastened in place. However, in turning the frames over, the' looseknives and bars are sometimes jostled out of position before thefastening is accomplished. This disturbs the adjustments and destroysthe uniformity of the several settings between the knives and guidebars. Of course, if the settings or adjustments are notI uniform thecuttings will not be uniform. The cuttings from some knives will bethick and the cuttings from other knives will be thin. This lack ofuniformityimpairs the efficiency of subsequent milling.;l operations andis deemed objectionable by practical sugar men. Strict uniformity in thethickness and character of the cuttings is what is desired. In my framesthis uniformity is secured to a greater degree than in former frames.This is due largely to the fact that the knives and lguide bars can bevfastened and adjusted without turning` the frames over, and therefore byeliminating the danger of the knives or guide bars slipping during; thisperiod, the adjustments and the cuttings are more strictly uniform. Theetliciency of subsequent milling operations is slightly increased inthis way, and therefore, by use of my frames,a little more sugar isrecovered from the beets-c'. e. a little less goes to wasteg-the qualityof the sugar is slightly purer; and the costs are slightly less.

Furthermore, with the corrugated bars, I find that a, particularinclination between the knife and the guiding,` face of the har securesthe best results. In thc old method of adjustii'ig the bara-namely byroel-:ingr them on their concave seats, see my Patent 1,075,624, Fig'.3,-this inclination is necessarily changed everytime the adjustment ischanged. The ideal inclination is therefore realized only at onespecific adjustment, and at all other adjustments an inferiorinclination results. In my invention this is eliminated` and the idealinclination is maintained tluoughout all the adjustments. Theinclination does not change when the adjustment is changed, and the bestinclination having been originally selected, is maintained at all times,and the best results in this respect are continually secured regardlessof the adjustment.

Other advantages will appear from the specifications, andfromconsideration ofi the drawings, but attention is called to theconstruction whereby wear parts are made detachable so that they can beeasily replaced with little expense.

The figures illustrate one form of the invention.

Figure 1 is a side view showing the frame partly in section. Fig. 2 is atop view of the frame. Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragment-al view showing myimproved means for fastening the knives to the frame. Tt represents asection through line )i3-X3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 illustrates the cutting edgeof the knife looking straight at it. Fig. 5 illustrates the alinedrelation betwen the corrugations in the knives and the corrugations inthe guide bars. Fig. 6 illustrates an enlargement of same. Fig. 7 showsthe ideal hollow V cuttings which the corrugated guide bars produce inthe drum cutter. Fig. 8 shows the irregular solid cuttings produced whena fiat guide bar is used instead of a corrugated one. Fig. 9 is asectional view of the frame through line X--X9, Fig. 1, omitting theknife. Figs. 10 to 17,.inelusive, illustrate separately the parts shownin Fig. 9. Fig. 9 shows them assembled. Fig. 10 represents one part ofthe guide bar. Fig. 11 represents another part of the guide bar. Fig. 12is a top view of the member shown in Fig. '11. Fig. 13 is a top view ofthe fastening wedge. Fig. 14 is a side view of this wedge. Fig. 15 is anend View of same. Fig. 16 is a side view of the raising and loweringwedge. Fig. 17 is a top view of same.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 the frame proper is shown at 1. This is moreor less of a skeleton member through which the shredsV pass freely whencut, and to which the knives, guide bars, and'operating parts, arefastened. The frame comprises the side parts 2, and the cross bars 3,the latter also serving as supports to which the knives and guidebarsare fastened. Each frame has three cross bars 3, one underlying each ofthe three sets of knives with lwhich the frame is equipped. The sidewalls 2 of the frame are cast integrally with the cross bars 3, andthese two parts, namely the sides and cross bars, practically constitutethe entire frame.

The knives are indicated at t, and the guide bars at 5. There are threesets of knives and guide bars in each frame. Fach set comprises one bar5, and two knives 41. Two of the sets are shown in Fig. 2, the thirdset, namely the right hand set, being' omitted so as te more clearlyshow the parts below. by side, each knife engaging only one half of theadjacent guide bar. The chief reason for having the two knives insteadof one wide one extending across the entire bar, is that the knivessometimes break, and. it is often necessary to discard only one of theseThe two knives in each set lie side' narrow knives, instead of both ofthem, as would virtually be the case if they were made in one. Thecutting edge 6 of the knife is corrugated and the corrugations run backalong the knife as indicated at 7. This is best understood from Figs. 1and 2,

particularly in connection with Fig. 4L which by Patent 1,075,624, thecuttings come out irregular and more solid as indicated in Fig. 8. Theobject in the sugar business however, is to get cuttings of the formshown in Fig. 7, and to get them as nearly absolutely uniform aspossible. It is in this respect that this invention accomplishes a verynotable ad- Vance by making it easy, in fact routine, to get shreds ofabsolutely uniform thickness, and, if the corrugated guide bar is used,at least in the drum cutter, to get all the shreds perfect in V sectionas shown in Fig. 7.

One feature that contributes to this largely is the manner in which theknives and guide bars are fastened to the frame. Fig. 3 in my Patent1,075,624: shows theold way. These specifications disclose the new way.

The means by which I fasten the knife is shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Asshown the knife is equipped with two converging channels 9 at the rear,these channels being narrower at the bottom than at the top so as tofirmlyl seat washers 10, see F ig. 3. These washers, being elongated,are strong in themselves, and alsehavel a very effective frictionalengagement in channels `9 `for firmly holding the knife. Y A bolt 11,having a slotted head 12, passes through washer 10. This head is alsoconical in shape so as to effectively engage the washer, see Fig. 3.Bolt 11 passes loosely through elongated slot 13 in cross bar 3 of the fame, see par-V ticularly Fig. 2, right hand side, and below this engagesa nut 111 in the cavity 15 of the cross bar.

To remove the knives from the frame it is only necessary to loosen bolt11. This may be done with an ordinary screw driver if the attendant isnot equipped with my special tools, and after loosening the bolt alittle, the front edge 6 of the knife, Fig. 1, can be raised so as toclear the guide bar 5, and the lmife can then be drawn out from underthe washers 10 and removed from the frame. For this purpose bolt 11 needbe loosened only a little, and should not be loosened so much as todisengage nut 14. The bolt is made long enough to allow ample clearancefor removing the knife without disengaging the nut. However, if theattendant does disengage the nut it matters only slightly. Nut 14 willdrop onto base 16 of cavity 15, and will ordinarily stay there. Torengage the nut, the attendant need merely screw up on the bolt just asthough the nut were engaged, and in view of the tapered relation betweenthe bottom 17 of the bolt, and the top 18 of the nut, these two memberswill automatically find and engage each other. However, if diiiiculty isencountered, the nut can be reset with the fingers in the ordinarymanner, but this troublesome situation should be rarely experienced. Thenext point that should be noticed is the relation between rear wall 19,of cavity 15, slot 13, and nut 14, which is such that wall 19 normallyengages nut 14, and prevents the latter from turning when the bolt isscrewed through it. This is just as eective as if a wrench were holdingthe nut, and permits the entire fastening to be effected by merelyturning the bolt. Thisl can be effected entirely from the top of theframe and its convenience is manifest. In addition, as previouslyindicated the frame need not -be turned over, and this aids in theaccuracy and uniformity of the setting.

Before concluding the description of the fastening meansl for the knife,attention is called to the relation between the converging channels 9 inthe rear of the knife, and the elongated slots 13, in the frame, runningcrosswise of the channels, see Fig. 2. In view of the converging`relation between the channels, and the frictional resistance of nut 14against side motion of bolt 11, the construction shown represents a veryeiiicient fastening means which not only has the common fasteningfeatures but also has a toggle or locking effect between the knives andthe bolts, so that the knives cannot slip even slightly in anydirection, and of course cannot rise off the frame. This locking effectis quite helpful.

We now come to the means for fastening arid adjusting the guide bars. n'Thebest assembly view of this means is shown in Fig. 9. Also, see thesectional portion of Fig. 2. The separate elements comprising this meansare shown in Figs. 10 to 17 inclusive.

In order to illuminate the assembly views, the element shown in Fig. 10is designated by reference character ,a' the element in Figs. 11 and 12by b,' the element in Figs. 13, 14, and 15, by reference character c;and the element in Figs. 16 and 17 The guide bar proper includeselements a and Z). In practice these two elements are securely joined toeach other, and work and behave as though they were one. I have shownthem disjoined only because I deem it advisable to build element cseparate from element o. Then the corrugations in a are worn, thismember can be replaced with but slight expense, and member o need not bereplaced also. Member Z) is more complicated and expensive than membera, and can outlive several of the bars a, which is desirable andindicates the advantage sought. From a structural standpoint theseelements should be treated as one. a is attached to b by common screwswhich engage the threaded apertures 20 in the bar a, see Fig. 10. Thesescrews come up through apertures 20 in element 6. The screws, being ofordinary form, are however omitted for purposes of clearness.

Member see Fig. 11, has a. fiat upper face for receiving and securelyholding member a. Member b also has two inclined planes 22 -which engagesimilar inclined planes 23 on lifting wedge (Z, see Fig. 1b. Inaddition, member b also has an inclined plane 24, engaging a similarinclined plane 25 on the fastening wedge 0, see Fig. 15. The relativeposition of the fastening wedge on member b is indicated by dotted linesin Fig. 12.

Figs. 16 and 17 illustrate the lifting wedge CZ. To understand theoperation of this member, and its cooperation with niembers a and I),reference should be made to Figs. 1, 2,' and 9, where these members areshown in assembled relation. j TheyI are assembled in a suitable recessor cavity 25', Fig. 2, in the frame. This cavity is formed in cross bar3 specially for this purpose. Ledge 26, Figs. 1 and 2, represents thebottom portion of this recess, whereas 27 is the rear wall, and 28 thef-ront wall, see particularly Fig. 1. The lifting wedge Z rests on thebottom 26 of the cavity, and is short enough to have a suitable slidingmotion lengthwise therein. Members a and Z) on the other hand rest onthe wedge member el, and span the cavity 25 throughout its entirelength.

The lifting wedge CZ is moved back and forth between the bottom ledge 26and the guide bar members a and by means of an adjusting bolt 29, seeFigs. 1 and 2,

which has a screw connection with the fei `the side. This bolt isadapted to push the wedge as well as pull it, and this is accomplishedby means of the annular shoulder 32 on the bolt, which engages the bodyof CIK the frame on one side, and engages cap 33 on the other side. Cap33 is fastened to the frame by means of small screws 311.

By operating bolt 29 wedge member CZ is drawn back and forth, and guidebar members a and are raised and lowered in view of the coaction betweeninclined planes 22 and 23. |Ihis raising and lowering is very importantbecause it is the means of adjusting the guide bar with respect to theknife. By reference to Fig. 6 for instance, it will be seen that as bar5 is raised or lowered, the slit 35 between the bar and knife is closedor opened, and conversely as the width of this slit is changed, thethickness of the cuttings, sce Fig. 6, is also changed. 'Ihese shredsshould be thicker or thinner according' to the particular quality ofbeets passing through the mill at any particular time, because theefliciency of the osmotic forces of abstraction, and other forces, inthe subsequent stages of the sugar abstraction, varies not only with thethickness but also with the quality of the beets. r1`herefore, as thequality changes from time to time,-z'. e. as to sugar content, and'other chemical features,-the thickness of the cuttings must becorrespondingly changed in order to maintain the highest eiiiciency ofabstraction at all times. Since the quality of the beets changes quitefrequently, this adjustment must also be changed frequently, andtherefore it is of the utmost importance that it be easily and Quicklyeffected. My construction accomplishes this very nicely, but beforereviewing the operation in detail, I desire to describe the means forfastening the guide bar members 0: and Z) to the frame so that they willnot fall out or become disarranged when the frame is inverted during theoperation of the machine. Figs. 13, 1&1- and 15 show one means which Ipropose for this purpose.

These figures illustrate the wedge G which comprises the base 36 and theupstanding forked portion including the two arms 37. These arms reacharound shank portion 38 of member l), so as to effectv an engagementbetween inclined planes 25 of wedge 0, and inclined plane 24 of memberI/Vhen the parts are in place in the frame the arms 37 reach up throughthe bottom 26 of the frame through a suitable channel 38, see Fig. Q,therein, which may extend clear across the frame or only part way acrossas indicated. The base 36 of wedge 0 engages the lower face of bottomportion .26 of t-he frame,rsee Fig. 1, and by virtue of the support thusgiven to the wedge, against upward thrusts, the arms 37 are able tovigorously engage wedge 24 of member Z) and securely bind and fastenthis member to the frame.

ledge 0 is also prevented from falling down through the frame, not onlyby virtue of its arms 37 which rest on wedge 24, of member but also bymeans of beveled sides 39, of its base portion 36, see Figs. 1 and 15,which engage thesimilarly beveled plates 10, Fig. 1, fastened to theframe. l

In order to manipulate wedge c back and forth so as to permit it toengage wedge 2l, in member l), in the various positions assumed by thelatter, I provide bolt 41, see Fig. 2, which engages the threaded femaleportion 4t2 of wedge c, see Figs. 14 and 15. This bolt is adapted topush and pull wedge c in the same mannerthat bolt 29 pushes and pullswedge CZ, and for this purpose the construction of bolt 41, and itsengagement with the walls of the frame, are identical with that of bolt29, so that the description of the latter, will also serve for theformer.

With the exception of a few details this now completes the descriptionof my frame and its connected parts, and no doubt many of its advantageswill be clear from remarks already made. In conclusion however, it maybe stated that the particular form of frame shown is that which servesthe drum cutters. This is indicated by the arc of the frame in Fig. 1.In drum cutters there are usually eight such frames in a set, and whenthey are arranged in the machine they practically form a continuouscircle or drum with the knives and guide bars alternately arrangedaround the internal periphery thereof. The general construction of suchVmachines is old and well known, and need not be here described indetail, but for purposes of referenceit may be remarked that the generalconstruction of such a machine is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 ofiny Patent1,075,624, to which attention has already been called. During operationthe beets are loaded into the drum formed by the chain of frames, andthe beets are held fast against rotation by some suitable stationaryapron, while the frames, constituting the drum, are revolved past thebeets by suitable motive power applied to the machine. In view of theforce with which the beets are fed into the drum, and also of thepeculiar wedging action incident to the shape of theI drum, the beetspress` down firmly onto the revolving knives and guide bars carriedaround by the frames, and the result isthat long shreds having the Vsection shown in Fig. 7 are cut from the beets, and come out through.channel 43 in the frame, passing away in direction of arrow c, Fig. 1.Arrow 7 indicates the direction of revolution of the frame when arrangedin the machine.

After one set of frames has been operating a while, the knives becomedull. The frames are then withdrawn from the machine and bolts 11 areloosened. The old knives are taken out and newsharp ones are put inplace. Before fastening the new knives in place however, they must beadjusted so that the width of slot 44, between the knives and guide bar,liigs. l and L), is correct in the judgment of the operator. Thisadjustment between the knives and guide bar is made by shifting theknife back and forth in the direction of arrow Fig. 2, such shiftingbeing possible in `View of the sliding engagement which the bolts l1have, when loose, through channels 9 of the knives and slots l'of theframes. rihis ability to adjust the knives back and forth is alsoimportant because, in view of the knives being sharpened from time t0`time, they rapidly become short, and must be shoved up toward the guidebar in order to maintain the correct width of slit lflbetween the knifeand guide bar. However, after the knives are adjusted and fastened so asto comply with the foregoing conditions, the operator next turns hisattention to the adjustment of the guide bar. This bar is adjusted as toheight so as to make the slit 35, F ig. (3', between the top of theguide bar and the knife, correct. previously 1ndicated this slitcontrols the thickness of the cuttings, and it must be varied from timeto time in order to suit the quality of beets passing through the mill.This adjustment is made, first .by operating bolt el so as to back thefastening wedge c off of wedge 2iof member b, so as to liberate membefand allow it to move up `and down. By means of bolt 29, wedge Z is thenoperated back or forth, and the guide bar members a and also designatedby reference numeral 5, are raised or lowered to the particular heightrequired. 1W hen the correct height is attained the `fastening wedge cis again drawn into position by means of bolt al, and the guide barparts a and Z) are firmly fastened to the frame in their new adjustedpositions.` lhen this is done the setting of the knives and guide barsis complete, and the frame is ready to be put back into the machine assoon as the next change of frames is called for.

By comparing this method of setting the knives and bars, with the methodformerly required, it will be noticed that with my frames all changesand adjustments of the knives and guide bars can be made from the top orside of the frame, so that the frame can remain fiat on the table, andneed not be raised or turned over, and need not be disturbed in anyother way, in order to accomplish the results sought. Neither the knivesnor the guide bars are fastened from below. Consequently after thesemembers have been pushed into adjusted` relation and are still loose,they can be easily and immediately fastened in place without disturbingthe frames, and all danger is therefore eliminated of these parts beingjostled out of adjustment before the fastening is im @D accomplished. Ascompared with. former methodswhere the frames had to be turned over inorder to fasten the knives and bars,v my construction achieves aconsiderable improvement by insuring more accurate and uniformadjustments, and this result evidences itself by substantial savings inV"arious parts of the mill.

rlhe next feature that should be observed is the manner in which theinclination or angular relation between the top guiding face of the barand the knife is kept constant throughout all adjustments. rlhis is bestseen from Fig. l, where the greater part lf3 of the bar is seen to havea slight inclination with the plane of the knife. The amount of thisinclination is important because it goiv'erns the amount of thecorrugations, of the bar which catch in the corrugations of the beets,and this latter factor controls the effectiveness of the corrugatedguide bar in accurately guiding the corrugations of the beet into thecorresponding corrugations of the next knife so as to insure the uniformcutting of V shaped corrugations of the form shown in Fig. 7. Now theadjustment of my bar is accomplished by raising it straight up and down,and not by tilting it in either direction, as is customary in otherframes, and in this way the inclination of my bar never changes butremains constant for all adjustments. I gage this inclinationscientifically in the first instance, so as to secure the best results,and this inclination remaining constant at all times, these `results areuniformly maintained regardless of changes of adjustment. Obviously thisis another important advantage. j

The following feature is somewhat in the same strain. By referring toFigs. ll and l2, also, Figs. 16 and 17, it will be seen that theinclined plane1 22 and 23 are disposed on each side of both the long andshort axis, so to speak, of member 7), viewing this inember in the`direction shown in Fig. 19.. ln this way the member is firmly supportedon these planes, and when it is raised or lowered these supports tend toraise or lower it uniformly, and there is no tilting' action in anydirection. Also, by having the slot 50 in member d, see Fig. 17, room ismade for the fastening wedge a, and by having this wedge perform itslocking or fastening function between the inclined planes 22 and` 23,this wedge also promotes the spirit of solidarity and levelness in thefoundation for the bar.

Uf course many of the features hereinbcfore brought out may be variedextensively. without departing from my invention. and in this connectionI wish to emphasize that this disclosure. and the accompanyiug drawings,point out only one forni in which the invention may be employed. Thescope of the invention is indicated only by the limitations in theappended claims.

As a final remark concerning details, attention might be called to wearstrip Zl-S. The inner top corner and sides 47, see Figs. 2 and 9, of theframe, wear rather fast in view of the continuous drag of the beets atthis point. After this wear has progressed to a certain point itsomewhat impairs the cutting action of the knives at these sides.lTherefore, in order to easily eliminate this, I provide the removablewear strips i8 which are fastened to sides 2 of the frame by screws 4:9indicated in Fig. 2. l/Vhen these strips become worn they can be easilyand quickly replaced with new ones,

Claims:

l. In combination, a removable frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife fastened to said frame, a guide bar mounted in said frame adjacentthe knife, the guiding face of the bar having a definite relation withrespect to the plane of the knife, means for raising and lowering theguide bar up and down evenly so as to effect an adjustment between thebar and knife without changing the said relation between the guidingface of the bar and the knife, and means for fastening the bar to theframe.

' 2. In combination a removable frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife fastened to said frame,.a guide bar mounted in said frame adjacentthe knife, the guiding -face of said guide bar having a definiterelation with respect to the plane of the knife, wedge means for raisingand lowering said guide bar up and down evenly so as to effect anadjustment between the bar and knife without changing the said relationbetween them, and means for fastening the said guide bar to the frame.

3. In combination a removable frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife fastened thereto, a guide bar mounted in said frame adjacent theknife, a wedge for raising and lowering the guide bar evenly withouttilting the guide bar with respect to the knife, said wedge having aslot therein and means passing through said slot for fastening saidguide bar to the frame.

4:. In combination, a removable frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife fastened to said frame, a guide bar mounted in said frame adjacentthe knife, the guiding face of the bar having a definite angularrelation with the plane of the knife, means foiI raising and loweringthe guide bar so as to ef- .fect an adjustment between the bar and theknife without changing the angular relation between the guiding face ofthe bar and the knife, and means for fastening the bar to the frame thelast said means including a wedge.

5. In combination, a removable frame for beet cutting machines, thesurface of said 'allel to the long axis of frame following substantiallythe arc of a cylinder, a corrugated beet knife fastened to said frame ontheinternal periphery of said cylindrical arc, a corrugated guide baradjacent the knife and also mounted on the internal periphery of theframe, the corrugations in the guide bar being alined so as to registerwith the corrugations in the knife andthe guiding face of the bar havinga definite angular relation with the plane of the knife, and means forraising and lowering the corrugated face of the guide bar evenly up anddown so as to effect an adjustment between it and the knife withoutchanging the said yangular relation between the guiding face of the barand the plane of the knife.

6. In combination, a removable frame for beet cutting machines, afbeetknife fastened to said frame, a guide bar connected to said frame, saidguide bar being adapted to be adjusted as to height relative to saidknife, and means for soV adjusting said bar, said means including awedge, and a screw operated from the side of the frame for operating thewedge.

7. In combination, a removable frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife fastened to said frame, an elongated guide bar connected to saidframe, said guide bar being adapted to be adjusted as to height withrespect to said knife, and means for so adjusting said bar, said meansincluding a wedge and a screw for said wedge, d screw being adapted tonormally operate and draw the wedge in a direction substantially partheelongated guide bar.

8.- In combination, a removable frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife fastened to said frame, an elongated guide bar connected to saidframe, said guide bar having a plurality of inclined planes, one of saidinclined planes being onl one side of the short axis of said elongatedbar, and another of said inclined planes being on the other side of saidshort axis of the bar, and wedge means lfor raising and lowering saidbar so as to effect an adjustment between the said bar and knife, saidwedge means also having a plurality of inclined planes corresponding toand engaging the said inclined planes of the guide bar so as to preventany tilting of the guide bar about its short axis as the guide bar israised or lowered by the said wedge means.

9. In combination, a removable 'frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife fastened to said frame, an elongated` guide bar connected to saidframe, said guide bar having a plurality of inclined planes, one of saidinclined planes being on one side of the short axis of the bar andanother of said inclined planes being on the other side Vof said shortaxis of the bar, said inclined planes also ioo being disposed on bothsides of the long axis of said bar, and wedge means for raising andlowering the bar, said wedge means also having a plurality of inclinedplanes corresponding to and engaging the inclined planes of the bar,said wedge means being thereby adapted to raise and lower said'elongated guide bar without tilting the latter either about its long orshort axis.

10. In combination, a removable frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife fastened to said frame, an elongated guide bar connected to saidframe, said guide bar having a plurality of inclined planes, one of saidinclined planes being on one side of the short axis of the elongatedbar, and another` of said inclined planes being on the other side ofsaid short axis of the bar, wedge means for raising and lowering theguide bar, said wedge means including a plurality of inclined planescorresponding to and engaging the said inclined planes of the bar, andmeans for fastening the guide bar to the frame between the said inclinedplanes of the bar.

11. In combination, a removable frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife fastened to said frame, an elongated guide bar fas- -the lastmentioned wedge means operating between the above mentioned inclinedplanes on the bar.

12. In combination, a removable frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife fastened to said frame, an elongated guide bar adapted to beadjusted as to height with respect to said frame, means for so adjustingthe bar, said means including a wedge, a screw for operating said wedge,said screw being adapted to normally operate and draw said wedge in adirection substantially parallel to the long axis of the guide bar,means for fastening the guide bar to the frame, said last mentionedmeans including a wedge, and a screw for operating the last said wedge,the last said screw being adapted to operate its wedge in a directionsubstantially parallel to the direction of operation of the first saidwedge.

13. In combination, a removable frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife fastened to said frame, an elongated guide bar adapted to beraised and lowered so as to effect an adjustment between said bar andknife,

means for raising and lowering the bar, said means including a lifting'wedge, a screw for operating the lifting wedge, said screw being adaptedto normally operate and draw said wedge in a direction substantiallyparallel to the long axis of said bar, means for fastening the guide barto the frame, said last mentioned means including a fastening wedge, anda screw for operating the fastening wedge, the last mentioned screwbeing adapted to normally operate its wedge in a direction substantiallyparallel to the direction of operation of the first said wedge, thescrew for the lifting wedge and the screw for the fastening wedge beingrespectively located and operated from opposite sides of the framele. Incombination, a rem(` vable frame for beet cutting machines, a beet knifefastened to said frame, a guide bar for said knife connected to saidframe, a lifting wedge for said bar adapted to raise and lower said barso as to effect an adjustment between the bar and the knife, and afastening wedge for fastening the bar to the frame.

15. In combination, a removable frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife fastened to said frame, a guide bar for said knife connected tosaid frame, a lifting wedge for said bar adapted to raise and lower saidbar so as to effect an adjustment between it and the knife, said liftingwedge having an in clined plane, a fastening wedge for fastening the barto the frame, said fastening wedge having an inclined plane, the saidguide bar also Ahaving inclined planes adapted to engage and coperatewith the said inclined planes on the lifting wedge and on the fasteningwedge.

16. In combination, a removable frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife fastened to said frame, a guide bar for said knife, said guide barbeing connected to said frame, a lifting wedge for said bar adapted toraise and lower said bar so as to effect an adjustment between the barand knife, said lifting wedge having an inclined plane, a fasteningwedge for fastening said bar to the frame, said fastening wedge havingan engagement with the frame, said fastening wedge also having aninclined plane, inclined planes on the said guide bar adapted to engageand coperate with the said inclined planes on the lifting wedge and onthe fastening wedge, and screw means manipulated from the side of theframe for operating the said lifting wedge and the fastening wedge.

17. In combination, a removable frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife fastened to said frame, a guide bar for said knife, said guide barbeing connected to said frame and having two inclined planes for liftingand lowering the bar, another inclined plane on the bar between thefirst two inclined planes, a lifting wedge having inclined planescoperating with the first Vtwo inclined planes ofthe bar for raising andlowering the bar to effect an adjustment with the knife, a fasteningwedge having "an `inclined plane coperating with the third inclinedplane on the bar for fastening the bar to the frame, and screw meansoperated from the side of the frame for operating the said lifting wedgeand the said fastening wedge.

18. In combination, a removable frame for beet cutting machines, a beetknife connected to said frame, a guide bar for said knife, said guidebar also being connected to said knife, said guide bar having twoinclined planes for lifting and lowering the bar, said bar alsoI havinga relatively narrow shank portion and a third inclined plane between thefirst two inclined planes, a lifting wedge with an elongated slotrunning lengthwise thereof, said lifting wedge having two inclinedplanes for engaging the first two inclined planes of the guide bar forraising and lowering the bar to effect an adjustment between it and theknife, a fastening wedge having an engagement with the frame andextending through said elongated slot in the lifting wedge, saidfastening wedge also having'two arms with lan inclined plane therein,said arms being adapted to reach around the narrow shank portion of theguide bar so as to bring the inclined plane on the arms of the fasteningwedge into engagement with the third mentioned inclined plane oftheguide bar, and screw means manipulated from the side of the frameforoperating said lifting wedge and said fastening wedge.

in testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, countyof Los Angeles, State of California, this 20th day of June, 1916.V

ROBAH J. BINKLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve c'ents each, by addressingthe Commissioner` of Patents. Washington, D. C.

